Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat have been having their way with the Atlanta Hawks through the first two games of their playoff series.
The Heat are up 2-0 in the series and have won both games by double digits.
One main reason the Heat have had such an easy time is because Hawks star Trae Young has struggled mightily. It seems like the Heat have figured out a way to use toughness and physicality to get the better of the star guard.
To the surprise of few, Young has voiced his displeasure regarding the NBA officials and Heat’s physical play. Young is a player that thrives at attacking defenders and drawing fouls.
Adebayo issued a fiery response to Young’s recent claims.
“I had four fouls. P.J. [Tucker] was in foul trouble,” Adebayo said after Thursday’s practice. “You got two starters in foul trouble so I don’t know how the refs are letting us get away with it if I’m sitting the whole third (quarter) and P.J. didn’t play the majority of the fourth.”
Clearly, Adebayo feels the Heat are getting more than enough fouls called on them.
In the end, if Young really wants to get a win versus the Heat, he’s simply going to have to play better. He logged just eight points, six rebounds and four assists in his team’s Game 1 loss.
While he scored 25 points in Game 2, he also recorded 10 turnovers. While he may want to blame the refs, he should also consider pointing the finger at himself.
In the end, it is unlikely that the refs will have much impact on this series. If the Heat can take care of business and continue executing their game plan, they should be able to dispatch the Hawks relatively fast.
Game 3 of the series is set for Friday.
